Corey Harris

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Corey Harris
Corey Harris 31 Rawa Blues 2011 005.jpg
Background information
Born (1969-02-21) February 21, 1969 (age 56)
Denver, Colorado, United States
Genres Blues, reggae
Occupation Musician
Instrument(s) Vocals, guitar
Years active1995–present
Labels Alligator, Rounder, Telarc
MembersChris Whitley (keyboards), Paul Dudley, (drums) Gordon Jones (saxophone), Teresa Jones (bass)
Website https://coreyharris.net

Corey Harris (born February 21, 1969, in Denver, Colorado, United States) is an American blues and reggae musician, [1] currently living in Charlottesville, Virginia. In the 1990s, along with Keb' Mo' and Alvin Youngblood Hart, he was a prominent acoustic guitar blues player. [2]

Contents

Biography

Harris was born and raised near Denver, Colorado. [1] He graduated from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine with a bachelor's degree in 1991, and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2007. Harris received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship for language studies in Cameroon in his early twenties, before taking a teaching post in Napoleonville, Louisiana under the Teach For America program. [2] [3] His debut solo album Between Midnight and Day (1995) was produced by Larry Hoffman, who discovered him in 1994 in Helena, Arkansas. The record included covers of Sleepy John Estes, Fred McDowell, Charlie Patton, Muddy Waters, and Bukka White. [2] His second recording with Hoffman, Fish Ain't Bitin' , was the recipient of the 1997 W. C. Handy Award for Best Acoustic Blues Album of the Year.[ citation needed ] Recorded in New Orleans, it featured Harris' original songs, vocal, and guitar backed on certain tracks by a trio of tuba and two trombones arranged by producer Hoffman.[ citation needed ] In 2002, Harris collaborated with Ali Farka Toure on his album Mississippi to Mali , fusing blues and Toure's music from northern Mali. In 2003, he contributed to the Northern Blues release Johnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny Cash .[ citation needed ]

Harris has lived and traveled widely in West Africa, an influence that has permeated much of his work. [1] Harris has toured worldwide. He has an (electric) band as well; formerly known as the '5 x 5', now it is called The Corey Harris Band.[ citation needed ] He helped Billy Bragg and Wilco to write the music for "Hoodoo Voodoo" on Mermaid Avenue , an album consisting entirely of songs with lyrics by Woody Guthrie. He also appeared as a musician and vocalist on the album and its sequels, Mermaid Avenue Vol. II and Mermaid Avenue Vol. III . [4]

In 2003, He was featured on the 2003 PBS television mini-series The Blues , in an episode directed by Martin Scorsese.[ citation needed ]

In September 2007, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced that Harris was among 24 people named MacArthur Fellows for 2007. [5]

Discography

Solo

Contributions to others

References

  1. 1 2 3 Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 187. ISBN   0-7535-0427-8.
  2. 1 2 3 Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues - From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. pp. 116–117. ISBN   1-85868-255-X.
  3. ↑ Burns, Jay (April 26, 2010). "Corey Harris '91 | Commencement | Bates College". Bates.edu. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  4. ↑ Thorngate, Steve (May 15, 2013). "Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions, by Billy Bragg and Wilco". The Christian Century. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Corey Harris — MacArthur Foundation". Macfound.org. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Corey Harris | Album Discography". AllMusic . Retrieved December 8, 2019.
    • 2021 The Insurrection Blues
  7. ↑ Harris contributed his version of "Redemption", originally found on Cash's American Recordings .
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